A new US aid package is still blocked by Republicans
Negotiations between Joe Biden and Republicans have been tense over Ukraine and US immigration policy. Under pressure from the right, these two issues are being negotiated together in Congress, which could jeopardize the supply of critical weapons and equipment to the Ukrainian military.
The Democratic president called on conservative lawmakers on Friday not to block the already partially negotiated immigration plan, which he promised would pass if passed. “The toughest and fairest reforms our country has ever seen to secure the border”. Earlier, Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson warned that any vote on new funding for Ukraine and strengthening the border with Mexico. “stillborn”.
U.S. military aid to Ukraine was last announced on December 27, and the White House has repeatedly said that without a budget extension, there will be no more. Joe Biden has called for an increase of about 100 billion dollars (about 92 billion euros) to meet emergency needs, primarily aid to Ukraine, which includes the first US delivery of military equipment and aid to Israel.
The parliamentary debate is now complicated by the ramping up of campaigning ahead of November's presidential election, which has every chance of pitting Joe Biden and Donald Trump against each other once again. The former Republican president has made immigration one of his main axes of attack, and he underscored his opposition to a bipartisan deal in the US Congress on Saturday. “A bad deal on the border is worse than no deal!” »He wrote in capital letters the choice of the Republican Party in the 2024 presidential election on his social network Truth. “Shut the border!” »he added.
Also, tensions have not subsided between the federal government and the Republican governor of Texas, who has installed a barbed wire fence along the border with Mexico, thereby overriding Washington's authority over border policing matters. He has strong support from Donald Trump and many Republican leaders.
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